Eoldiitg- chair



J. L. WHITE.

FOLDING CHMR. APPLlCATlON FILED NOV. 18,1915.

1 q 1 93,854. Patented Aug. 8, 1916.

2 SHEETSSHEET I.

J. L. WHITE.

FOLDING CHAIR.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 18. 1915.

1 1 9 3,854 a, Patented Aug. 8, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- JOHANNAI-I LEONTINE WHITE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

FOLDING CHAIR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 8, 1916.

Application filed November 18, 1915. Serial No. 62,086.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, Mrs. JOHANNAH LEON- TINE WHITE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Folding Chairs; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in folding chairs and refers more specifically to a novel arrangement of the chair elements and the fabric or other flexible covering for the chair bottom and back whereby the chair when folded is concealed by the fabric or covering so as to present not only a compact package which may be readily carried but also a neat package having the general appearance of a hand bag.

My improvements are particularly useful in connection with steamer chairs and chairs 25 designed to'be carried to and used at places of recreation.

The invention consists in the combination and arrangement of the elements shown in the drawings and described in the specifica- 80 tion and is pointed out in the appended claims.

In said drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective view of the folded chair. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the chair when opened 35 in position for use. Fig. 3 is a bottom perspective View of the chair when folded. Fig. 4 is a bottom perspective view of the frame of the chair when folded with the covering removed. Fig. 5 is a perspective w view of the frame of the chair when opened with the covering removed. Figs. 6 and 7 are details of one means of interlocking the chair rounds to the legs.

As shown in the drawings'10 designatethe side members, 11 the front member and 12 the rear member of the seat frame; 13 and 14 the front and rear legs respectively, and 15, 15 the side rounds, 16 the front round and 17 the rear round which are connected to and brace the legs.

I attached to the seat frame is bent between its ends so that the pintle of the hinge lies above the level of the plane of the chair seat for a purpose hereinafter to be described.

For some uses, as a steamer or other reclining chair, the frame of the chair back may be made materially longer than an ordinary chair and the upper and lower sections 20, 21, respectively, may be hinged at 22, so that the upper part may swing down alongside the lower part as indicated in Fig. 4 to enable both sections of the back frame to be folded within the dimensions of the seat frame. The purpose of bending the lower leaves of the hinges 19 will now appear, it being noted from an inspection of Fig. 4 that the raising of the pintles of the hinges above the plane of the seat provides space to receive the folded back frame. The said back frame is held at a given or particular inclination with respect to the seat frame by means of straps 25, 25, which are attached at their upper ends to the back frame in the manner shown in Fig. 5 and at their lower ends to the seat frame. Preferably the attachment of the straps to the seat frame is accomplished by a fastening device which permits the effective length of the straps to be adjusted and thereby enable the inclination of the chair back to be adjusted. This is shown as effected in the present instance by providing the straps at their lower ends with eyelets which are engaged with buttons 26 extending laterally from the seat frame at the front thereof.

The legs 13 and 14 are also hinged to the members of the seat frame by hinges 27 in such manner that the front legs and rear legs may be folded inwardly toward each other to lie against the bottom of the seat frame. In order to permit the legs to thus fold, the side rounds 15 are hinged at 28 to the front legs, as herein shown, and are de tachably locked at their rear ends to the rear legs. A. suitable locking device for so looking the rounds to the rear legs is more clearly shown in Figs 6 and 7 Said fastening device consists in providing each rear leg with a socket80 which opens at the inner side of the leg to receive the rear end of its associated side round 15 and the chair leg carries any suitable form of spring latch designated as a whole by 31 which is adapted to engage a socket 32 formed in or carried by said round. A finger piece 33 on the latch bar or plunger permits the parts to be readily separated when the chair is to be folded, and the beveled end of the latch bar or bolt socket 30 and to be automatically locked.

therein by the latch. The front and rear rounds 16 and 17 are fixedly attached to the front and rear legs.

The seat and back frames of the chair are covered by a suitable cover designated by 35, 36, respectively, which may be made of a single piece of flexible covering material such as a strong linen, leather or the like. Linen or like material is preferred because it does not tend to crack when folded. In-addition to the covering for the seat and back frames, there are provided four flaps, 38, 39 and 40, the flaps 38 being at the sides of the chair, the flap 39 at the front thereof and the flap 40 at the rear of the chair. In addition to the back frame supporting straps 25 I preferably also provide triangular piecesl of flexible material which are attached at two edges to the bottom and back frames in such manner as to constitute arm rests. The said sections 41- will be made full enough to permit adjustment of the'inclination of the back of the chair by the different adjustments of the straps 25 as hereinbefore mentioned'.

When the chair is to be used for an outing chair in places not requiring the reclining feature, the back may be made shorter and may be considered, as for instance, the length of the lower section of the back frame.

When the chair is to be folded the back is folded down over the seat, and the terminal section 20, when said section is employed, will be folded between the lower section of the back frame and the seat frame, in the manner clearly shown in Fig. 4. It will be understood that the back covering covers or incloses the back frame both at the front and rear as-will be made clear by a comparison of Figs. 1 and 2. When the back is folded down over the seat, arm rest membersAl will be folded inwardly to be contained between the back and seat. The folded back may be locked in its folded position in any suitable manner, as for instance, by means of straps 43 which are attached to the rear side. of the back near the upper end of the lower back section and which engage buckles 14: that are attached in any suitable manner to the front edge of the seat frame exterior to the flap 39. After the back has been thus folded and secured in its folded position, the chair is reversed and the swinging side rounds 15 are swung inwardly toward each other and against the front legs, one of said I rounds being located in a plane slightly below the other, after which the front and rear legs'of the chair are free to be swung inwardly toward each other, one pair restingon the round of the other. Thereafter the front and rear flaps are folded inwardly over the collapsed structure and may be fastoned together by means of traps 45 at tached to the edges of one flap and adapted 'to engage buckles e6 carried by the edge of the companion flap. 'Thereafter the side flaps 38, 38, are similarly folded over the other flaps and are likewise attached to each other by short straps 47 on the edges of one ofthe flaps engaging buckles 48 at the edges of the companion flap. When the chair is thus collapsed and the cover material applied thereover as described it constitutes a compact package which maybe readily carried, it having dimensions and proportions similar to ahand bag. The folded package may be readily carried by means of a ban dle 50 which is attached to the rear edge of the back member of the seat frame as indicated in'full'lines in Fig. 1 and'in. dotted lines in Fig. 2.

. It will be understood thatthe raising of the axes or pintles of the hinges 19 is useful also in the absence of the terminal foldable section-of the back, inasmuch as this arrangement ofthe'hinges provides between the back and the seat space to receive steamer rug or otherlike article.

It will be apparent that the chair described is extemely light as compared to its strength and therefore may be carried from place to place without inconvenience or discomfort. Furthermore the chair occupies but little space and may be readily placed in a trunk or other transporting receptacle.

It will "be understood that the structural details shown and described are capable of some variation within the spirit and scope of the claims hereto appended and it is the intent to claim all of inherent novelty specification. V

I claim as my invention 1. A folding chair comprising a shown in the drawings and described in the,

seat

frame, legs hinged thereto to fold flat be neath the seat frame, a hinged back frame to fold flat over the seat frame, a cover for the back frame, and flaps depending from the front, rear and side members of the seat frame adapted to be folded inwardly over each other and the folded chair legs and to be fastened together at their edges, whereby said cover and flaps completely inclose the folded chair structure to produce a satchellike package. v

2. A folding chair comprising a' seat iio frame, legs hinged thereto to fold flat beneath the seat frame, a hinged back frame adapted to fold flat over the seat frame, a

cover for the back frame,'fiaps depending from the front, rear and sides of the seat frame adapted to be folded beneath and in close the folded leg structure, with means to fasten the flaps in theirinclosing positions and means to fasten the'back frame to the front of the seat frame.

3. A folding chair comprising a seat memher, legs engaged to and foldable beneath the seat member, a back member hinged to and foldable over the seat member, a flexible cover to cover the seat member and extending over the back member and having depending flap appendages adapted to be told ed beneath and inclose the folded legs, means to support the back member at a predetermined inclination relatively to the seat member and triangular arm rest flexible members attached to the seat and back member and adapted to be folded between said seat and back members.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I affix my signature in the presence of two Witnesses, this 13th day of 5 November, A. D. 1915.

MRS. JOHANNAH LEONTINE WHITE. Witnesses:

OSCAR SEABERG, REBEOOA WILLNER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. O. 

